The Road Home
by andrewjameswilliams
Summary: AU. When John was pulled down the wormhole at the end of Unrealized Realities a series of events is set in motion that will change the balance of power in the Uncharted Territories forever.
1. Prologue

**Farscape: The Road Home**

Authors Note: This story is set after the episode Unrealised Realities but the following episodes did not occur. The story is also slightly AU in that in this reality Zhaan, Crais and Talyn are all still alive. This is a crossover with the Terran universe I created in A Journey's End.

**

* * *

****Prologue**

Commander John Crichton knew that he was in trouble, big trouble as he floated helplessly through space tumbling slightly with the momentum imparted by his passage through the wormhole. The wormhole had spat him out in Earth's solar system right near to Saturn; the great majestic ringed seventh planet dominated much of his view. Saturn's storm bands looked very beautiful from here as did the rings of ice and rock that surrounded the planet, the rings glittering brightly with the glow of the storm bands and the distance brilliant light of the sun.

At any other time in his life John would have been captivated by this view of Saturn, he had always liked looking at Saturn through a telescope and seeing her up close like this would have been a childhood dream come true. But now he might as well have been looking at his own death. The oxygen charge in the Peacekeeper spacesuit that he was wearing had been almost completely exhausted the display showed he barely had ten minutes of air left. Thirty minutes to contemplate his inevitable, ignominious demise in the atmosphere of Saturn as the gravity of the mighty gas giant slowly pulled him in. Though asphyxiation would get him long before the gravity of the planet did.

John tried not to think about his inevitable death. Instead he thought about the others back on Moya, but especially Aeryn. He knew that Aeryn was only just getting over the death of the other him on Talyn, he didn't know how she would handle his death as well.

A sudden flash of light caught his attention and John looked in the direction the flash had come from and almost cried out in surprise at what he saw. A ship looking absolutely huge from his current perspective had appeared from nowhere and was now hovering a short distance from him. The surprise at the ships sudden appearance was nothing compared to the absolute astonishment he felt when he saw a nameplate on the side of the ship and was able to read what it said easily as it was written in English.

The nameplate read THS _Atlantis_.

Two small moving points were coming towards him from the _Atlantis_, moving towards him with such speed that whatever they were they were either machines or people in spacesuits using somekind of propulsion packs. As they got closer John was able to see that the latter was correct and that it was two human-looking men in somekind of spacesuits though they looked very different to the Peacekeeper spacesuit he was wearing and different to the old NASA and IASA ones.

He didn't have much time to think about what was going on where this strange ship with a human name had come from. For at that moment a warning buzzer sounded and the displays from the life support unit of the suit showed that he now had less than five minutes of breathable atmosphere left.

Strong hands abruptly gripped his arms and John looked up from the translucent holographic characters on the inner part of the visor of the spacesuit to see that the two spacesuited men were now on either side of him and had taken a hold of his arms and all three of them were now moving towards the _Atlantis _at a surprising fast pace.

John looked at his two saviours assessingly and couldn't help but wish that he had Wyonna with him in case he had to defend himself. Unfortunately his trusty pulse pistol was in his quarters back on Moya. Though the men who were saving him from an untimely demise looked friendly enough he had learned long ago that appearances were deceptive.

Another warning sounded from his suits internal monitors and John grimaced as he saw that he was down to three minutes of air. They were almost to the _Atlantis_ but John began to suspect that he wasn't going to make it. The starship with the strange human-style name filled space ahead of them and he could see that they were heading for an open airlock on the ships hull. The distance was closing rapidly as the propulsion units on his rescuers spacesuit ate up the distance between them and the ship.

They were only a hundred metres or so from the open airlock door when his suit sounded an urgent warning as his air supply dropped to thirty seconds before stopping altogether. The only air he had now was the small amount that was in the helmet, and that would run out in moments.

John was gasping and sweating struggling to get air into his lungs by the time they crossed into the airlock. His lungs burned as he tried to breath but there was no air, eyes wide in instinctual panic John desperately fought to stay alive, but he knew it was a loosing battle. That he was going to die just as he had been rescued.

Darkness began encroaching on his vision as his legs gave way under him and he dropped to his knees, before collapsing entirely. _Aeryn I'm sorry_, John thought thinking about the Sebaecean woman that he loved with all his heart, though she was still getting over the death of his twin. He hated to think how she would react to him dying as well, though with a little luck she might never know what had happened to him.

Darkness enveloped him and he lost consciousness with a final word on his lips, a final name.

The name of Aeryn Sun.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Moya**

**That Same Time**

Aeryn Sun stood staring at Moya's front screen at the softly glowing and rippling bluish vortex in space that was the wormhole that had just swallowed John Crichton whole. She couldn't believe what had just happened, how the wormhole had seemed to latch onto the human and pull him in, and she couldn't help but feel that it had just pulled in a part of her as well.

Thinking about John Aeryn couldn't help but wince as she realised how she'd been treating him recently, ever since she'd returned to Moya after the death of his twin on Talyn after the other John had used a wormhole based weapon to completely destroy a Scarren dreadnought. She'd been so lost in her grief over that John's death from radiation poisoning that she had treated the John who'd been here on Moya all along like dren, and he'd done nothing wrong. All he'd done was worry about her while she'd been away on Talyn, both D'Argo and Zhaan had repeated told her how John had worried about and missed her. She hadn't realised until now that with the John here on Moya she'd been given another chance to be happy, but now that chance was seemingly gone.

She barely noticed when D'Argo came into command with Zhaan only a few steps behind him.

"Aeryn," D'Argo said drawing her attention. Aeryn turned to look at D'Argo and the Luxan noticed the faint tear tracks running down Aeryn's cheeks. Pilot had told him what had happened as soon as it occurred and it was obvious that Aeryn was taking it badly, fearing that she had once again seen John die.

"Yes D'Argo," Aeryn asked as she felt the tears on her cheeks and angrily wiped them away.

"I'm going to be taking my ship into the wormhole to see if I can find John before the oxygen supply in his spacesuit runs out," D'Argo said. "Do you want to come?"

"Yes I would like that," Aeryn replied silently hoping that they would get to John before the oxygen supply in his spacesuit was depleted. She had no idea how much oxygen John had in the spacesuit, but he had been out observing the wormhole for a considerable period of time. Probably long enough that the oxygen in the suit would have dropped to a low level. She hoped that wherever he was drifting through space wherever the wormhole had spat him out he was okay and not out of air. She would hate to get there and find nothing but a lifeless body.

D'Argo nodded and then turned and led the way out the command towards the transport hanger and his ship.

**

* * *

Medical Bay**

**THS Atlantis**

Doctor Kirsten Roseberg frowned in confusion as she studied the information being display on holographic screens from the scan she had just done of the human-looking alien who had just been rushed to her medical bay after collapsing from oxygen-deprivation in one of the ships airlocks.

The scans indicated that her patient wasn't an alien at all, instead as amazing as it seemed he was Terran. The question was where had he come from? Terrans didn't regularly make a habit of travelling via wormhole without a ship of any kind. What was also puzzling was the fact that he had no nanites of any kind in his body, though there was a colony of microbes at the base of his brain that seemed to do the same job as translators. There was also the remains of somekind of neural implant present in the strange Terrans brain, the neural circuitry was quite primitive as such things went and there were signs that the implant was slowly breaking down. The deterioration was slow, the Terran could live another fifty years without any ill effects from the implant, but it would eventually kill him, unless something was done about it.

Kirsten sighed and keyed a command into the diagnostic console again running another scan. The results appeared almost instantly and showed exactly the same results as before, she turned away from the diagnostic console and looked at her patient lying unconscious on the biobed. He was quite a handsome young man, the scan showed he was only in his thirties, he should have a century or two of life ahead of him, not be doomed to die in fifty years because of a neural implant. _But he will die unless I do something about it,_ she thought going back to the diagnostic console and running another scan this time focusing on the neural implant.

The scan results appeared instantly and Kirsten frowned as she examined them. It looked like someone had surgically removed a considerable portion of the neural implant and grafted neural tissue to bridge the gap and enable the stranger to continue to live and function. But the rest of the implant was still present and slender metallic tendrils from the implant were woven deep into her patients brain, removing them surgically would be impossible, the risk of fatal brain damage was far to great. But there was another way, but that would require her introducing nanites to the stranger, something she was reluctant to do without knowing who he was or where he had come from. The nanites would recognise the implant as something dangerous and destroy it without damaging the rest of the brain, but they would also merge with and enhance the stranger's body.

Kirsten turned and looked back at the stranger again debating with herself what she should do, the moral dilemma weighing heavily upon her. If she did nothing then she was condemning her patient to what would eventually be a painful death as the implant broke down and caused his neural pathways to begin collapsing. But without knowing where he came from she could be violating the rules of his culture. It was known that in the early days of interstellar flight some colony ships, filled with people who wanted to explore a different way of life to the rest of their race, had left Terran space and most had disappeared without a trace. It was possible that her patient could come from a colony founded somewhere in space by one of those first interstellar pioneers.

After a few moments as if in response to her looking at him her patient groaned softly and the sensors monitoring him bleeped for her attention. Kirsten turned around again and looked at her holographic displays to see that her patient was rapidly approaching the threshold of consciousness, he would be awake in a few more moments.

Calmly she pressed a section of her uniform activating the communicator built into it.

"Medical bay to the bridge," she said. "Captain our guest is coming around."

"Very well doctor I'll be right there," the calm voice of Captain Aiden Jackson replied immediately before signing off. Kirsten turned off her comm and returned to checking her patient's vital signs as he approached consciousness.

**

* * *

Bridge**

Captain Aiden Jackson signed off with Doctor Roseberg and stood up from his command chair.

"Commander Nakamura you have the bridge," he said looking over at his first officer. "I'll be in the medical bay."

"Aye, sir," Commander Nakamura replied immediately. Aiden smiled and started to leave the bridge of the _Atlantis_ when the sensors chimed for attention.

"Captain we're picking up increased gravitic and neutron emission activity from the wormhole," the lieutenant crewing the sensor station reported. "There appears to be a ship coming through." Aiden turned around and returned to his command chair.

"Show me," he ordered.

"Aye, sir." A holographic screen appeared in front of him showing the image of the softly glowing silvery blue vortex of the wormhole. For a moment nothing happened then a small ship came shooting up out of the wormhole's event horizon.

"Sensors what do you make of it," Aiden ordered.

"The ship appears to be a large fighter of somekind," sensors reported. "The ship has a powerful but more primitive form of a Henderson drive system, but no hyperlight system, the hull is armoured, they do have shields as well but they are nowhere near as powerful as ours. I also detect a cloaking device and a single large directed energy weapon, type unknown."

"Life signs?"

"Two life forms aboard. Sir from these readings there two separate species."

"Interesting. Have they seen us?"

"Yes sir. I'm picking up sensors attempting to probe us."

"Communications hail them."

"Aye, sir. Channel open sir." Aiden nodded.

"This is Captain Aiden Jackson of the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_ to alien vessel. You are in Terran space identify yourself."

"No response sir." Aiden frowned and tired again.

"Repeating this the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_ to alien vessel, you are violating Terran space identify yourselves immediately."

"Still no answer sir."

"Can they hear us?"

"Yes, sir there just not responding."

"Hmm weapons power up one of the proton cannon turrets and fire a warning shot."

"Aye, sir."

**

* * *

Lolaan**

**A Few Moments Earlier**

Both D'Argo and Aeryn were startled when they emerged from the wormhole into an unfamiliar solar system that there navigational system showed was in one of the spiral arms of galaxy, far from the Uncharted Territories, beyond even Tormented Space.

Aeryn was about to beginning scanning looking for any sign of John either by his suit beacon – assuming it hadn't been damaged by passage through the wormhole, or by his life signs when an alarm sounded indicating that _Lolaan_ had picked up a potentially hostile contact. Instantly Aeryn's Peacekeeper training kicked in and she turned her attention to the tactical sensors, her concern for John pushed aside by the conditioning that had been ingrained in her since birth. _Oh frell,_ she thought as she read the sensor displays.

An unknown alien vessel that was definitely a warship of somekind was hanging in space less than ten metras away from them. The sensors showed it was about twice Moya's size and was bristling with weapons of unknown kind. The ship was also putting out a huge amount of energy every micron, several times what a command carrier could generate in an arn. Strangely she couldn't detect a hetch drive as she understood it though the ship was generating the same field around its hull that a hetch drive put out to allow a ship to travel at faster than light speeds in normal space without relativistic effects. Obviously it had to have a hetch drive, or something so similar that it made no difference. She scanned the ship more closely and saw something that made her gasp in complete and total shock and amazement. There was writing on the hull; the same writing that was in John's module. It was English and it said THS _Atlantis._ She could read it as John had taught her how to read and speak his language just as she'd taught him to read and speak Sebacean. They'd taught each other so if they were ever in a situation where their translator microbes weren't working for some reason they'd be able to understand each other.

Before she could speak to advise D'Argo the comm chirped as a signal came in from the unknown ship.

"This is Captain Aiden Jackson of the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_ to alien vessel. You are in Terran space identify yourself," a voice said from the, could it be, Human ship. _Terran what's a Terran,_ Aeryn thought confused.

"What is a Terran," D'Argo wondered aloud debating with himself if he should answer the hail though he was not happy that they'd come out of the wormhole, expecting to find John drifting helpless in space and instead come face to face with an alien warship.

"D'Argo I think their Crichton's people," Aeryn said.

"That can't be John's people are technologically primitive just look at his module. There is no way they could build a ship like that," D'Argo replied a moment before the voice from the _Atlantis_ came again.

"Repeating this the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_ to alien vessel, you are violating Terran space identify yourselves immediately."

"It might be advisable to answer them," Aeryn pointed out. "And I know it's hard to believe but that ship has Human writing on it. Who else could have built it?"

"Point and if there is one thing I've learned from John its where his people are concerned its expect the unexpected," D'Argo replied a moment before _Lolaan's_ sensors bleeped a warning of increased energy emissions from the _Atlantis_.

A few microns later a point on the _Atlantis'_ hull flashed and a bolt of golden energy shot forth and flashed passed them in a clean miss. But it was immediately obvious to Aeryn that the bolt of weapons fire had not been intended to hit them and had merely been a warning shot. _Lolaan's_ sensors reported that the pulse was somekind of proton based particle weapon and its energy level was three times that of a bolt from a command carriers frag cannons, if it had hit them full on they would have been instantly obliterated.

"Why you," D'Argo growled instantly incensed that someone had fired at his ship. Acting without thinking he raised the defence screen and brought _Lolaan's _weapon on line, before locking onto the _Atlantis_.

"D'Argo don't," Aeryn said trying to dissuade the Luxan from acting on the impulse from the volatile temper of his species, but she was too late. D'Argo fired.

A blue-white pulse of energy shot forth from _Lolaan_ and streaked across space to hit the bow of the _Atlantis_. A bright flash erupted on impact but then faded away as the energy dispersed back out into space in a rainbow blaze of diffusion. As the light faded it showed the _Atlantis_ was completely undamaged, there was not even carbon scoring at the point where the blast had hit her armour.

A moment later a different point on her hull flashed and a bolt of brilliant red laser fire flashed towards them. The shot hit immediately and _Lolaan_ rocked violently and D'Argo's eyes widened as he saw that that one shot had reduced the defence screen to fifty percent. Another bolt of laser fire struck and _Lolaan_ was thrown tumbling out of control as sparks shot out of panels all around the cockpit.

"Shields are down," Aeryn said. "Minor damage to the outer hull. One more of those will destroy us."

A jolt abruptly shook _Lolaan_ but not the kind of jolt that came from weapons fire, as it occurred a blue light abruptly filled the view ports and there motion halted.

"What the frell," D'Argo exclaimed angrily. "We're being pulled towards them. It's like a docking web but much more powerful and focused and I've never seen one with this range."

Before Aeryn could reply a reddish light came through the hull and terrible exhaustion and numbness abruptly hit her system. Darkness began encroaching upon her vision and then she lost consciousness completely slumping forward over the controls. A moment later D'Argo too blacked out and slumped forward on his controls as _Lolaan_ was drawn towards the _Atlantis._

**

* * *

Bridge**

**THS Atlantis**

"The unknown ship has been immobilised sir and the crew are unconscious," the sensor lieutenant reported.

"Good. Bring them into the hanger bay and get a security team down there. I want those two in the brig before they wake up."

"Aye, sir."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Medical Bay**

**THS Atlantis**

John Crichton groaned as consciousness returned. Slowly he opened his eyes and groaned as the overhead light hurt his eyes, he closed his eyes again against the discomfort.

"Relax the pain will pass in a moment," an unfamiliar female voice with an unmistakably English accented voice said. John's eyes flew open again in astonishment and he blinked rapidly until his vision cleared to see a fit looking young woman in a blue uniform, with a white doctors coat over the top, standing over him smiling softly.

"Where, where am I," John said weakly. "Who are you?"

"You're aboard the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_," the woman replied. "I'm Doctor Kirsten Roseberg. And who might you be?"

"Don't joke you know who I am I'm not falling for these illusions again," John said realising that this was probably all an illusion being created by another alien who was after the secret's of wormhole technology from his brain. Or else it was Einstein still playing around with his perceptions.

"I'm afraid I don't know who you are," Kirsten replied. "And I assure you this is no illusion. We picked you up in space. Who are you?"

"Fine I'll play along with your little game," John replied. "I'm Commander John Crichton."

"John Crichton," Kirsten repeated, the name seemed familiar to her from somewhere, but where had she heard it before. Then it registered and she stared in honest disbelief. "That's impossible. That can't be. You would have died long ago even if you survived the accident in space that resulted in the old I.A.S.A scrapping the _Farscape_ project."

"No I'm not dead rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," John answered looking closely at this Doctor Roseberg, she seemed honestly surprised to hear his name, in fact surprised was an obvious understatement. She was absolutely astonished and he could tell somehow that it wasn't an act. "What do you mean I would have died long ago?"

"A question first. What year do you think it is?" John frowned and did some calculations in his head working out what year it would be since the _Farscape_ had been pulled into that first wormhole.

"Two thousand and five," he answered a little uncertain. "Why do you ask?" He looked Kirsten straight in the eye. "It's not two thousand and five is it?"

"No," Kirsten answered.

"Then what is the date today and what year is it?"

"It's the twenty first of March," Kirsten answered, "twenty nine eighty four. Now do you see why I'm surprised you left Terra nearly a thousand years ago."

"A thousand years," John repeated shocked and glad that he was already lying down or he would have surely collapsed. Then he closed his eyes in pain realising that his father, his sisters, DK, everyone he had known and cared about back home would all be long dead, long ago turned to dust.

The knowledge that they were all gone made his eyes sting with unshed tears, but his pride wouldn't let him show them. A hand touched his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Kirsten looking down at him with a look of sympathy in her eyes. She could tell that what she had just told him had upset him greatly.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's not your fault," John replied feeling a tear begin making its way down his left cheek. "It must have been that first wormhole, the one that sent me to the Uncharted Territories in the first place, it must have been a wormhole through time as well as space."

"Some wormholes are like that yes," Kirsten replied. "It depends what type they are as there are a dozen different kinds that we know again. The wormhole you came out of here is a basic or class one wormhole a simple bridge across space that's all. What I don't understand is how you've been able to survive."

"It's along story," John answered.

"I look forward to hearing it but first we have something a bit more immediate to talk about. Your life is in danger, not yet but in about fifty years time it will be."

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"You have a neural implant correct," Kirsten said. "Some of it has been removed surgically, quite an impressive achievement considering it was a purely surgical procedure. But the rest of the implant remains."

John nodded he knew that already, how else would Harvey still be in his head even though the chip that supposedly had housed the neural clone Scorpius had implanted to get at the wormhole technology had been removed.

"I know. It wasn't put there voluntarily," he replied. "What about it?"

"My scans indicate that the implant is slowly but surely breaking down," Kirsten answered him. "The implant is still along way from full breakdown but when it breaks down completely it will break apart and severe many key nerves and blood vessels in your brain. It would kill you. Unless something can be done about it."

_"Don't listened to her John it won't,"_ Harvey/Scorpius' voice said to him.

_"Shut up Harvey,"_ John snapped back then he responded to Kirsten.

"I was told that nothing could be done to remove the whole implant," he said. "That it was too deeply integrated with my brain."

"Surgically yes there is nothing that can be done. The risk of brain damage would be far to great," Kirsten answered. "But we can remove the implant without risk to you. But there would be a side effect, a permanent one."

"Which is," John asked.

"In order to remove the implant I would have to inject you with nanites. They would recognise the implant as something harmful and deal with it."

"What are nanites," John asked. "They sound like somekind of nanotechnology."

"They are," Kirsten answered. "The kind of nanites I'm on about are biomechanical organisms in that there a mixture of organic and inorganic technology and are easily small enough to enter living cells. Nanites are found everywhere in our society these days, in our machines, our computers and in us."

"You mean you've got billions of tiny biomechanical machines inside you," John asked startled by the concept. Though the scientist in him was fascinated with the idea and wondered what kind of effects the presence of nanites would have on the human body.

"Yes. Everybody does," Kirsten answered inwardly smiling at the scientific curiosity that she could see in John's eyes now. "Once inside the human body nanites provide a variety of benefits including lengthened life span, greater physical attributes like speed and strength, superior sensory perception, perfect health and so on. Since the technology became widespread at the end of the twenty-first century people have been injected with nanites at birth. But there is one slight snag. Once there in you and become a part of you nanites can't be removed, they body becomes dependent on its biomechanical helpers to keep functioning. You can change one type of nanite for another but you can't remove them."

"I see. So if you put nanites in me they would get this implant out of my brain but they'd also become a part of me," John said. "They'd enhance me as they enhance you."

"Precisely. The choice is yours commander as it will effect the rest of your life from this point onwards."

John leaned back on the bed and thought about it ignoring the silent protests and threats from Harvey at the back of his thoughts, the neural clone of Scorpius couldn't really do anything to him anymore with the main part of the chip gone. It would definitely be nice to no longer have the neural clone in his head and put up with his constant two cents worth of comments on everything. Sometimes he had to admit the comments were useful but most of the time they didn't make much difference. The news that the chip was eventually going to kill him was another mark against Harvey, he wanted him gone. Truth be told he quite liked the idea of a longer life span as it would give him more time with Aeryn if he could get back to her and Moya and the enhanced physical abilities would probably help a lot to survive in the chaos of the uncharted territories.

"Aside from the dependency on the nanites to stay alive are there any catches to having nanites," John asked.

"Not really. You need to eat a little more to satisfy the nanites energy needs but not that much really," Kirsten answered.

John sighed and thought about it a little more; this was the moment of truth when he had to decide if this was real or if it was all just an illusion. Part of him was cautioning him that this could still all be a deception but his instincts were telling him that this was no illusion, that it was real. He didn't know what to do what to decide. He remembered something that his father had once said to him '_if you're ever in doubt John,'_ Jack Crichton had told him, '_if you ever find that you don't know what to do go with your instincts. Trust them and trust yourself and you will make the right decision.'_

"Alright," he said at last resolving his internal battle with the aide of his father's advice. "Do it." Kirsten nodded.

"As you wish," she replied with a smile. "Lie there quiet commander I'll be right back."

"Ok and doctor please call me John," John replied. "It sounds funny being called by my rank all the time." Kirsten chuckled.

"Alright John it is," she replied then moved out of John's immediate vision. John turned his head and followed her movements as she moved over to somekind of storage cabinet and open it. He saw her take something out though he couldn't make out what it was from here and carry it over to a workstation of somekind where she seemed to fiddle with something.

After a moment though Kirsten returned to his side carrying a hypospray into which she had loaded an emergency nanite replacement pack. They were necessary from time to time as even nanites could be damaged though it took something major to do it. If the nanites couldn't repair themselves then they would have to be replaced by undamaged nanites, that same function made the pack an ideal way to first introduce nanites to John Crichton's system.

"You'll feel a slight tingling," she said to John. "Followed by the urge to go to sleep. Don't fight it just let yourself go. When you wake up everything will be fine the implant will be gone and you'll feel better than ever." John nodded.

Kirsten gently pressed the hypospray to the side of John's neck and pressed the button to fire sending the contents an initial load of several thousand nanites into John's bloodstream. John winced slightly at the initial sting in his neck from the injection then stiffened slightly as he felt the warned about tingling sensation spread from the point of injection. As the tingling spread further John felt his eyes grow heavy. Slowly he closed his eyes and relaxed and in moments was asleep.

Kirsten watched as he fell asleep then sighed and returned to her diagnostic console, she would have to keep a very close eye on her patient for the next few hours as the nanites went about there replication and integration phases. She would have to be ready to intervene if something were to go wrong, it was very unlikely but still she would have to be prepared to intervene, and she fully intended to be.

**

* * *

Moya**

Zhaan walked onto Moya's command deep in thought. It had been almost one and a half arns since D'Argo and Aeryn had taken _Lolaan _into the wormhole and there had been no contact with them since, and Zhaan was getting concerned. Assuming they had survived transit through the wormhole they should have found and retrieved John by now.

"Still no news yet Pilot," she asked as she heard the sound of Rygel's hoversled coming into the command followed by footsteps that would have to belong to Chiana.

"Not yet Zhaan I'm afraid," Pilot said as his hologram appeared in the clamshell on the wall. Chiana frowned as Pilot spoke.

"I would have thought they would be back by now," the Nebari girl said a note of concern in her tone of voice. Zhaan turned in place to look at the impulsive grey skinned girl but before she could speak an explosion shook Moya violently. Another blast shook Moya and the lights flickered as a moaning sound the air.

"Pilot what is it," Rygel demanded to know as Moya rocked under the impact of a third explosion. When Pilot appeared in the clamshell again and spoke there was a note of panic in his voice.

"We're under attack from Peacekeeper Prowlers," Pilot reported as Moya convulsed as she was attacked again, "neither Moya or I detected them they must have approached on a stealth trajectory. A Peacekeeper Command Carrier has just appeared on Moya's sense horizon."

"We should starburst immediately," Rygel said as another round of pulse cannon fire from the attacking Prowlers rocked Moya.

"I am afraid that we cannot Moya has insufficient energy reserves at this time," Pilot said dismay in his voice as Moya shook again. "Peacekeeper carrier approaching firing range their frag cannons are powering up."

"We don't have a choice," Zhaan said. "Pilot take us into the wormhole." Pilot nodded and disappeared from the clamshell.

After a moment Moya's hetch drive started and the leviathan began moving towards the wormhole. The Prowlers continued firing aiming for the long tendrils that trailed back from the main body of the living ship trying to knock out the propulsion system even as Moya picked up speed.

Zhaan kept her gaze focused on the huge screen at the front of the command watching the wormhole as it grew larger and larger outside, so the softly glowing and rotating silver and blue vortex seemed to dominate space. Quietly Zhaan uttered a prayer to the goddess for protection and mercy as Moya shook under another attack from the pursuing Prowlers.

The wormhole loomed large and strangely beautiful in front of them and then Moya entered the event horizon of the wormhole. A completely different vibration to the violent shaking that had occurred during the Prowlers assault began to be felt through the deck of the living ship as space outside Moya became a long, twisting, glowing tunnel through space/time to some other point in the galaxy. Somewhere that would hopefully be beyond the long grasp of the Peacekeepers.

**

* * *

**

Peacekeeper Command Carrier

Captain Tykol Larsh frowned slightly when the fugitive leviathan they had been fortunate enough to notice in the area disappeared down the wormhole that it had been holding position close to.

"Sir the leviathan," Lieutenant Makol started to say.

"I saw lieutenant," Larsh responded. "They're not going to escape us that easily. Recall all Prowlers then lay in a pursuit course through the wormhole."

"Yes sir."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Brig**

**THS Atlantis**

D'Argo groaned softly as consciousness returned and he was able to feel his body again, his whole body was tingling like mad as if with pins and needles. Slowly he opened his eyes and groaned again, the light overhead was bright but not uncomfortably so. Slowly the tingling began to ease off and D'Argo cautiously sat up and looked around.

He was no longer on _Lolaan_ instead was sitting on a bed in a small room. All four walls were nothing but metal that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Yet it was obvious that this room was somesort of cell but how had he gotten in here? There was no entrance that he could see; the room was nothing but a metal walled and floored cube. _I'm a prisoner again,_ D'Argo thought with an angry growl, he had sworn that he would never again be taken prisoner. That he would die first, but here he was.

D'Argo stood up and started feeling around the walls looking for an entrance but he couldn't find one. All the walls were featureless, smooth metal; there was no sign of a door. Growing frustrated D'Argo growled in anger before punching the wall and recoiled with a loud yelp of pain, as all he got for his troubles was some badly bruised knuckles.

With nothing else to do D'Argo went back to the bed and sat down. _When I get out of here I am going to kill whoever put me in here,_ he thought, _then I will find and kill John for getting sucked down the wormhole in the first place._

* * *

Lieutenant Jason Harris winced when from his workstation he observed the alien in one of the cells punch the wall, and recoil with a yelp. _That had to hurt,_ he thought looking at the alien. The wall was one way transparent and he could see the tall, heavily muscled alien who looked to be a warrior of some type. The weapon he'd had with him a strange sword that could transform into an energy rifle supported that observation. 

The alien was certainly impressive looking but Jason was no stranger to aliens being the son a career diplomat. He'd been around aliens most of his life; especially the Trenik and this alien had nothing on that species which looked like a giant, anthropomorphic version of a timber wolf. This alien didn't intimidate him at all for although he was as tall as a Trenik he didn't have the claws, sharp teeth and raw muscular size that had so intimidated the first Terrans who'd encountered them, an initially compared them to the werewolves of mythology.

Jason sighed and activated the communicator built into the right wrist of his uniform.

"Security to bridge," he said.

"Bridge here. What is it lieutenant?" Captain Jackson responded.

"Sir one of our guests is awake."

"I'll be right down."

"Yes sir."

**

* * *

Bridge **

Aiden Jackson stood up from his command chair. He was just about to turn to speak to Commander Nakamura to hand over command of the bridge when the sensors console began bleeping again. Aiden rolled his eyes. _Now what,_ he thought sitting back down again.

"Report," he ordered.

"Increased emissions from the wormhole captain," the sensor lieutenant reported. "They are much stronger this time. Another ships coming through."

"What is this wormhole junction and no one told us," Aiden said exasperated his comment being met with smiles all around the bridge. "Show me."

"Aye sir."

A holographic screen appeared in front of him showing the glowing vortex of the wormhole, a moment before the strangest looking ship he had ever seen came streaking up out of the wormhole, and continued moving as if it was running away from something. _It looks organic,_ he thought interested. Not many species used organic technology, in fact only one race they knew of did.

"Sensors what do you make of that ship," he asked.

"A moment captain these readings are confusing," the sensor lieutenant reported his hands dancing over his console. "The alien ship is definitely organic, it's reading as one gigantic life form. There are a number of smaller lifeforms inside, possibly the ship's crew. The ships powered by a Henderson drive system similar to ours but more primitive, it appears to have another drive system as well but I can't identify it."

"Interesting. Communications hail them. Transmit standard first contact package," Aiden ordered.

"Aye sir."

**

* * *

Moya **

Zhaan sighed in relief and uttered a prayer of thanks to the goddess as Moya cleared the wormhole. Space all around them was unfamiliar; a huge, majestic gas giant with a beautiful ring system dominated a large part of the view out the forward screen.

"Attention Moya has detected another vessel," Pilot said as his hologram appeared in the clamshell like screen on the bulkhead. "It appears to be a warship, configuration unknown. Weapons systems are not powered and shields are down. They are scanning us however."

"Yots a warship," Rygel said. "We must leave now. Pilot when can we starburst?"

"Not for some time you eminence," Pilot replied. "Alien vessel is hailing us. They are transmitting data, the pattern indicates simple universal scientific and mathematical concepts."

"That could indicate a simplified form of communications used when encountering a new species," Zhaan commented thoughtfully. "Perhaps we are as unknown to them as they are to us."

"Possibly," Pilot agreed. "Zhaan I have just noticed something. The language that the data is being transmitted in is English. The same language that's on the outside and inside of Commander Crichton's module, I have also noted writing on the ship hull. It is in the same language."

"That's impossible," Chiana exclaimed.

"I have triple checked the sensors Chiana there is no mistaking the readings. They are correct."

"Can we talk to them Pilot," Zhaan asked approaching the clamshell.

"I believe so Zhaan."

"Then hail them back please Pilot," Zhaan said.

"Hailing now. Hail acknowledged response coming up. Putting on main screen."

Zhaan turned to the main screen just as a window opened showing a handsome youthful looking Sebacean male, dressed in a uniform unlike anything she had ever seen before. Yet there was something different about this man, he wasn't projecting the air of arrogance, superiority and hostility that a Peacekeeper captain projected. Instead he projected an air of curiosity and there was something else. Something that told her that despite appearances the man she was seeing wasn't Sebacean but Human.

"Greetings," the man said warmly. "My name Captain Aiden Jackson commanding the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_ and you are?"

"I am Pa'u Zotah Zhaan," Zhaan replied. "This is Moya."

"Are you her captain?"

"No," Zhaan replied and was about to explain when she heard a bleeping over the communications link from somewhere on the _Atlantis_, a moment before Pilot spoke up.

"Zhaan," Pilot said. "The Peacekeeper carrier is coming out of the wormhole. They've followed us."

"Break communications link Pilot. Evasive action until we can find somewhere to hide while we wait for Moya to build up the energy to starburst."

Pilot nodded in his clamshell and broke the communications link with the _Atlantis _even as with more of his multiple arms he began guiding Moya on an evasion course. He wasn't sure how well he would be able to dodge any shots from the command carrier, when those kind of manoeuvres were required Aeryn generally took over control from the manual control stick in the command.

"Terran vessel moving to intercept the Peacekeepers," Chiana said from one of the consoles. "The Peacekeepers are powering up their frag cannons. They're targeting us. Defence shield is up but it won't withstand them for very long."

**

* * *

Bridge **

**THS Atlantis**

Captain Jackson kept his eyes on the alien warship that had just come through the wormhole. The alien warship was huge, according to their sensors it was close on eight kilometres long and it looked mean. Very mean.

"Tactical analysis," he ordered.

"The alien vessel is seven and a half kilometres long sir. Like the other two they appear to use a more basic form of Henderson drive system for propulsion and don't appear to have anything in the way of our hyperlight technology," tactical reported. "They've got two separate shields that appear to operate on a principle of layering one shield on top of another. Together there shield strength is about sixty percent that of ours."

"Weapons systems?"

"I read twenty four heavy plasma cannons of somekind. They appear to be mounted in batteries of three on some sort of turrets that appear to be able to move along the ring that bisects the vessel. There are hundreds more smaller plasma cannon batteries located all around the vessel, I read multiple missile launchers but sir according to these readings the missiles are plain fusion warheads."

"Nuclear fusion warheads," CommanderNakamura commented. "Those things have been obsolete for over five hundred years."

"That's what our sensors say they have commander," tactical replied as the sensor readings changed. "Captain the alien warship is powering up its main guns. They're targeting Moya."

"Communications hail the alien ship," Aiden Jackson ordered automatically knowing he could not allow violence to erupt here in the middle of humanities own system if he could avoid it, nor was he going to stand by and do nothing as whoever crewed this warship destroyed Moya. Why would they want to destroy Moya however he didn't know, Moya was unarmed and Pa'u Zhaan had seemed friendly enough.

"No response sir," communications reported.

"Open a channel."

"Channel open sir."

"Alien warship this is Captain Aiden Jackson of the Terran Hegemony starship _Atlantis_," Aiden said. "You are engaged in aggressive action in Terran space. Please stand down your weapons."

"No response they're ignoring us sir," communications said.

"Sir alien weapons coming to full power they will be able to fire on Moya in less than a minute," tactical reported.

"Tactical raise our shields and power up weapons systems," Aiden ordered. "Communications open the channel to the alien ship again."

"Channel open sir."

"Alien vessel I repeat you are engaged in hostile action in Terran space. You are ordered to stand down your weapons immediately."

"Still no answer sir."

"Then we will have to get them to listen with actions," Aiden said. "Weapons fire a warning shot across their bow."

"Aye sir," weapons replied.

A moment later one of the proton cannons fired sending a single golden energy projectile streaking through to shoot passed the alien warships bow. The bolt passing so close that slight particle spill from the blast hit the bow shields making them glow softly.

"Now let's see if that's woken them up," Aiden said. "Communications hail…"

"Sir the alien vessel is launching fighters and targeting us," tactical reported. Aiden sighed and rolled his eyes, whoever these people were they were obviously the shoot first ask questions later type. They probably thought that the size of their vessel made them invulnerable.

"Red alert. All hands battle stations," Aiden ordered immediately. "Communications inform command as to our situation and request reinforcements."

"Aye sir," came the replies from the respective stations as klaxons began wailing and red alert lights began flashing throughout the _Atlantis._

**

* * *

Peacekeeper Command Carrier **

**A Moment Earlier**

"So the locals dare to object to our presence here do they," Captain Larsh said studying the pathetically small looking alien warship that hung in space ahead of his ship. Daring to challenge the firepower of a full Command Carrier.

It was so pitiful that it was amusing. He would just have to teach these Terrans – whoever they were, as he'd never heard of that species before – some lessons in respecting those who were superior to them. Once the alien ship was dead he would run down the fugitive leviathan and finally end the embarrassment that they had become in short order.

"Launch the Rystar regiment," he ordered. "And lock frag cannons on the Terran vessel. Stand by to fire."

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Makol answered.

Captain Larsh turned back to his tactical display showing the alien vessel sitting defiant in space. Sensors were reporting a major increase in its power emissions; power emissions that were already higher than anything this side of those put out by a Nebari heavy cruiser. It was obviously preparing for battle however hopeless it was. The alien vessel was completely outnumbered and outgunned. _Foolish,_ he thought as he observed the seventy-two Prowlers of the Rystar fighter regiment streaking towards the alien ship. Despite its shields they would destroy it in short order, the battle would be a sudden surprise but very useful training exercise for his pilots so they would be ready when the inevitable war with the Scarren Imperium began.

A soft smile appeared on his face as the Prowlers moved forward arranged in waves accordance to squadron, moving in a confident attack formation. He was going to enjoy watching this.

**

* * *

Bridge **

**THS Atlantis**

"First wave alien fighters approaching in attack formation sir," tactical reported. "We will be in their weapons range in moments."

"Let the leading fighters take the first shots," Aiden ordered. "Then use the pulse lasers and proton accelerators to destroy them and fire AFM's at the others."

"Aye, sir," weapons replied.

* * *

The leading wave of Prowlers came in veering their approach to strafe the _Atlantis_ with brilliant red plasma bolts. The bolts from the Prowlers instantly hit the _Atlantis's _shields, making the shields glow a soft blue at the points where the bolts impacted hardly bothered by the assault. 

A moment later the _Atlantis_ retaliated with her short-range antifighter/antimissile defence network of pulse lasers and proton accelerator guns. Instantly local space around the patrol cruiser was filled with a complex tightly interwoven web of red and gold energy bolts. Several Prowlers died instantly, before their pilots could even begin to react, dissolving into softly glowing, rapidly dispersing clouds of disassociated ions.

The remaining four from the first wave began taking frantic evasive manoeuvres; it did them no good. Three pulse lasers bolts and one miniature proton energy projectile found them almost instantly making them vanish in brief blasts of ionic flame. Simultaneously the _Atlantis _fired several small projectiles that streaked towards the next wave of approaching Prowlers.

Knowing that the incoming projectiles could not be good news the Prowler pilots began firing attempting to knock down the weapons. Two Anti-Fighter Missiles died the other five split open and released a barrage of smaller, smart seeker missiles. Each one equipped with a nanocompressed microfusion warhead.

Ferociously fast despite there small size the AFM sub-missiles slammed into the Prowlers before the pilots could even begin to turn in evasion. Not that it would have done them any good, the AFM's were sophisticated, smart weapons, fully capable of tracking a target and either running it down and destroying it until they ran out of fuel. Whichever came first, even then they would sit in space and proximity detonate when an enemy fighter flew past.

Eighteen Prowlers were instantly wiped from existence; the rest scattered the confident attack formation completely and utterly shattered.

More AFM's left the _Atlantis_ streaking across space towards the Prowlers.

**

* * *

Peacekeeper Command Carrier **

Captain Larsh watched the quick destruction of thirty of his Prowlers for no damage with a sense of stunned disbelief. Prowlers were one of the most lethal fighters ever constructed yet the Terran ship was swatting them from the sky as if they were nothing more than annoying insects.

"Frag cannons locked onto the Terran ship sir," Lieutenant Makol reported from behind him.

"Fire at will," Larsh ordered.

"Yes sir."

Larsh watched his display screen as all twelve forward frag cannons fired upon the Terran ship. Reddish-orange bolts of plasma streaking across space to impact the Terran shields and detonate and the insolent alien vessel vanished in the explosions. Larsh allowed himself a smug smile, knowing that barrage would have torn the alien ship to pieces.

The smile faded when the Terran ship reappeared as the explosions dissipated, its shields glowing as they deflected the asteroid sized plasma explosions energy ineffectively out into space. _Impossible,_ Larsh thought a moment before the Terran ship lashed out with twin blue-white energy beams and for the first time in his experience his ship rocked under enemy fire. Golden energy bolts followed the brilliant blue beams slamming into the ships forward shields each impact rocking the carrier.

"All guns fire," Larsh shouted as another volley of enemy fire shook his ship.

**

* * *

Bridge **

**THS Atlantis**

Aiden held onto the arms of his chair as enemy firepower slammed into the _Atlantis_ shields repeatedly. Not letting up for even a moment, the salvo's from every gun that the alien warship could bring to bear on them slammed into the shields in a near continuous onslaught. But he knew that they were giving as good as they got sending proton cannon bolts and the occasional burst from the positron beam cannons slamming into the enemy.

"Shields weakening," tactical reported. "Individually the alien plasma bolts are no real threat but together the impacts are formidable. Our shields won't hold against this for too long."

"Navigation attack pattern Delta," Aiden ordered as the _Atlantis_ shuddered around him. "Fire torpedoes."

"Torpedoes away," weapons reported as six light antimatter torpedoes launched from the forward torpedo tubes and streaked towards the Peacekeepers at very high speed.

Two torpedoes died, denoting with multi-megaton fury as enemy fire connected with them. The other floor slammed home one after the other, the powerful blasts being barely withstood by the Peacekeeper shields. Badly stressed the carriers bow shields were in no shape to stop the next volley of proton cannon blasts that slammed into them. Several penetrated to impact the armoured hull directly. Massive explosions rippled across the command carriers bow as armour vaporised or disintegrated with the fury of the weapons.

**

* * *

Sickbay **

**THS Atlantis**

Commander John Crichton forced his eyes open as he felt the ship shaking around him. He had been through this kind of thing enough times to realise that they were under attack.

"What's going on," he asked feeling tired and weak and knowing somehow that the nanites hadn't yet finished merging with his cells yet.

"We're under attack John," Kirsten Roseberg told him stumbling against another bed as the _Atlantis_ shook violently again. "A large ship that came through the wormhole. But don't worry were holding our own and reinforcements will be coming."

"Who's attacking us? Peacekeepers? Scarrens? Nebari?"

"I don't know," Kirsten replied. "But soon whoever it is will regret firing at us." As she spoke Kirsten smiled grimly knowing bigger ships than the _Atlantis_ would be calculating jumps to this location. Who knew maybe even the _Trafalgar_ would show up and there were few ships in space that could hope to go against her and live. If she came this battle would be over, and over in very short order.

**

* * *

Peacekeeper Command Carrier **

"Damage report," Captain Larsh ordered waving his hand at the thick acrid smoke that had begun to fill the command centre of his ship as the Terran warship kept up its merciless pounding, despite having already been hit by enough firepower to tear apart three Scarren dreadnoughts.Firepower that had weakened the Terran shields but had not broken them down quickly as he would have expected.

"Shields at twenty three percent," Lieutenant Makol reported as the another volley of proton blasts shook the ship. "Twenty. We cannot take much more of this punishment. There have been localised shield collapses on the bow. Sections twelve through twenty on decks twelve to forty have sustained massive damage. Collateral damage in all forward sections. Forty percent power loss. Sir I hate to say this but we must withdraw if we stay we'll be destroyed."

Larsh whirled to face his first officer and was about to open his mouth to slap him down for daring to suggest such a thing when a tremendous impact shook the ship and everyone was thrown off there feet.

A harsh creaking came from above followed by a snapping sound, Larsh looked up in time to see a support girder be ripped away from its moorings and fall right towards him. A soft cry escaped his lips right before the girder crashed into his chest and his world vanished in blast of harsh, red pain that rapidly gave way to numbness and darkness.

* * *

Lieutenant Makol picked himself up off the floor and sighed when he saw Captain Larsh lying motionless on the floor near him. His chest crushed by the fallen support girder, killing him instantly. 

"Sir our shields have collapsed," Lieutenant Jukal reported to him. "Alien vessel is coming back around again. Sir without our shields we won't withstand another volley like the last one."

"I know," Makol replied. "What's the status of the Rystar regiment?"

"Sixty-nine Prowlers destroyed sir," Jukal reported snapping into the role of first officer now that Makol was default captain with the death of Captain Larsh. "The others are disabled and adrift. The enemy is ignoring them. Sir three more ships have just appeared on our scanners, they just appeared and each one is three times bigger than the first ship. Time to intercept thirty-six microns."

"Navigation come about take us back into the wormhole at best possible speed," Makol ordered. "Retreat."

For a moment no one in the command centre moved, the order to retreat was one that was rarely herd in the Peacekeepers. For a command carrier to withdraw after just a few minutes of battle was unheard of, not even the Nebari's mighty hostships could defeat a command carrier so quickly.

"Now," Makol ordered.

"Yes sir," Navigation reported at last and set to work on the task of bringing the badly wounded command carrier about.

**

* * *

Bridge **

**THS Atlantis**

Captain Aiden Jackson sighed in relief when he observed the alien warship beginning to turn away from them to run. The _Atlantis's _shields were down to forty two percent, the constant hammering of the alien plasma weapons taking there toll on shields that were not really designed for a major engagement. Patrol cruisers like the _Atlantis_ were designed to fight pirate ships and mercenary vessels, they weren't meant for line ship combat.

"What are our reinforcements doing," he asked.

"Still closing but there not firing on the alien ship," tactical reported.

"Good," Aiden replied. "What about Moya?"

"There almost to Jupiter sir but they've stopped their flight. They must have seen what was happening back here."

"Captain the alien warship is entering the wormhole," sensors reported.

"Show me," Aiden ordered and a hologram appeared in front of him, clearly showing the alien vessel disappearing back into the wormhole, leaving behind a trail of debris and burning gas as it did so. In less than a moment it was gone. It was over for now.

"Stand down from red alert," Aiden ordered. "Damage report?"

"Engineering reports minor shockwave damage to some systems all over the ship sir but no major damage," operations reported. "Internal repair nanites are responding."

"Sir we're being hailed by the _Reliance_," communications reported. "Captain Talvarda says to leave the remaining disabled fighters to her ship, they'll pick them up. They want us to rendezvous with Moya and escort them to Earth."

"Tell Captain Talvarda that we're on it," Aiden replied. "Navigation take us to Moya."

"Yes sir."

"Security to bridge," Lieutenant Harris's voice said over the intercom. Aiden touched the communicator built into the forearm of his uniform.

"Yes lieutenant," he asked.

"It's one of the prisoners we picked up earlier sir," Harris reported.

"What about them?"

"They've been injured."


	5. Chapter 4

**The Road Home**

**Chapter Four**

**Moya**

Silence and disbelief reigned in Moya's command as on the main front screen they observed the badly wounded Peacekeeper Command Carrier flee back into the wormhole. As one no one could believe what they had just witnessed, a single small warship defeating the might of a full Command Carrier, sending the Peacekeepers running.

"Zhaan," Pilot said from his clamshell finally breaking the silence. "The _Atlantis_ is changing course to intercept us. One of the other three warships seems to be moving towards those few Prowlers that were disabled not destroyed."

"Understood Pilot," Zhaan replied.

"I must also report that Moya now has enough energy to starburst," Pilot added.

"We should leave immediately," Rygel said.

"Do you think John's people would let us Rygel," Zhaan asked. "Going by how they defeated the Peacekeepers they could destroy us before we could starburst. Plus they have shown no sign of aggression towards us."

"Zhaan we are receiving a message from the _Atlantis_," Pilot spoke before either Chiana or Rygel could reply. "Captain Jackson is requesting that we accompany them to Earth orbit. What shall we do?"

Zhaan looked over at Chiana who nodded to indicate that they should comply with the Terrans wishes. The Nebari girl looked unusually and uncharacteristically contemplative. But then she had just seen a single small Terran ship scarcely bigger than Moya give the Peacekeepers a pounding, showing that they possessed power equal to her peoples and possibly even greater. It was understandable that she would be unusually quiet after seeing that. Zhaan then looked at Rygel and the ex-emperor sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Signal our agreement Pilot," Zhaan said at last.

"Doing so now," Pilot replied.

**

* * *

Sickbay**

**THS Atlantis**

John had almost drifted back off to sleep now that the ship had stopped shaking when he heard someone coming up into the sickbay. Forcing himself to open his eyes again he turned his head to see what was happening. To see a high-tech version of a stretcher being moved into the room, but it was who was sprawled unconscious on the stretcher that really got his attention.

"Aeryn," he said awkwardly sitting up. "What happened to her?"

"John lay back down you can't get up yet," Kirsten said firmly looking at John from where she was going to attend to the new arrival. "Do you know her?"

"Yes we are…um…involved," John replied reluctantly complying with Kirsten's order to lie back down. "Why?"

"Because she and another person were taken prisoner from a small vessel that came through the wormhole a short time after you did," Kirsten replied. "They didn't acknowledge any hails and when we fired a warning shot they attacked us directly. They are lucky that we did not destroy them."

"D'Argo," John sighed knowingly guessing that the small ship was _Lolaan_ and that if a fit of his fiery Luxan temper D'Argo had directly attacked the _Atlantis_ when they'd fired a warning shot at him. As D'Argo had confessed to him before it was a curse of his people's warrior heritage. "I can explain what happened if the pilot is who I think it is. But that's beside the point at the moment. What's wrong with Aeryn?"

"She was thrown against the wall during the battle," Kirsten explained. "I believe she has a concussion. Don't worry John I'll look after her and I won't have to use nanites to deal with something as simple as a concussion. Is there anything I need to know about her medical history?"

"First off appearances aside Aeryn isn't human," John replied slightly reassured by Kirsten's words but still deeply worried about the Sebacean woman he loved with all his heart. "She's a Sebacean they're a cold blooded species literally."

Kirsten blinked surprised to learn that Aeryn wasn't human like them. She looked so human; unlike other aliens they had encountered that looked completely different to them. The fact that these Sebaceans were cold blooded was also interesting.

"Interesting," Kirsten said after a moment's silence. "A completely alien race looking so like us is amazing and highly improbable to occur."

"That's what I thought the first time I saw Aeryn," John replied. "She was the first Sebacean I ever encountered though it was not a very cordial first meeting." He said the last part with a touch of irony remembering how Aeryn had started beating him up, throwing him around the cell they'd been thrown in together on Moya, having mistaken him for another Peacekeeper who was out of uniform. Before he could speak again however a wave of exhaustion pulled at him again.

"Go back to sleep John," Kirsten instructed seeing John fighting to resist a yawn. "The nanites in your system will complete their integration soon then you'll be able to get up. I promise that I will look after her."

Reluctantly John nodded and lay flat again. He doubted he would be able to sleep knowing that Aeryn was injured. Still he felt so tired, he couldn't remember a time when he had felt this tired, this weak. Though somehow he knew that the opposite would be true when the nanites finished merging with his body, whenever that was. Slowly his eyes drifted closed and within seconds he was once more fast asleep.

Kirsten watched John fall back to sleep, she considered introducing a sedative to his system to make sure he stayed asleep until the nanites finished integrating with his systems. But after a moment decided against it, the nanites would finish there integration soon and any sedative she administered would be sure to keep him out for at least twelve hours. Quietly she turned away and went to tend to the strangely human like alien woman that John had identified as being named Aeryn.

**

* * *

THS Trident**

**Earth Orbit**

Vice Admiral Arlene Greysmith jumped slightly when the communications unit in the right forearm of her uniform bleeped for attention. Curious wondering why she was being bothered in her quarters here in orbit over Terra herself she immediately answered the hail.

"Yes," she asked.

"Admiral we are receiving a hail from Hegemony Command," Captain Yamato reported. "It's the Grand Admiral ma'am."

Arlene's eyes widened slightly; Grand Admiral Harold Ironside was the highest ranking military officer in the Hegemony Guard next to the President no one had more authority in the Hegemony Guard. Why in the world was he calling her?

"Put him through," she ordered.

"Aye, ma'am." Arlene looked up as a holographic screen shimmered into existence over her desk showing the face and torso of Grand Admiral Ironside, unusually for most Terrans his face showed lines of age and there were a few streaks of grey in his immaculately brushed brown hair. Both were signs of the great age of the Grand Admiral, nanites only slowed down the ageing process after maturity was reached after all, they only slowed it down. From the signs of age Arlene had to guess that the Grand Admiral was over two hundred years old.

"Grand Admiral this is an unexpected honour," Arlene said. "What can I do for you?"

"Admiral Greysmith I am in need of the services of your squadron," Grand Admiral Ironside responded. "You are aware of the battle that took place near Saturn between the patrol cruiser _Atlantis_ and an unidentified alien warship."

"Yes sir I am," Arlene replied. "We observed it on our scanners. The alien ship disappeared into the wormhole that it originally came through. As I understand the other alien vessel, the one the _Atlantis_ saved is on its way here as we speak."

"Yes Admiral that is correct. However I am concerned that more alien warships like the one engaged and driven off by the _Atlantis_ maybe coming. Three battlecruisers are now stationed on our side of the wormhole."

"What do you wish my squadron to do Grand Admiral," Arlene asked though she already had an idea. At her command she had the firepower of one Hydra-class battleship, four Legend-class battlecruisers and eight Defiance-class destroyers. A squadron the size of hers would easily have the power to secure the other side of the wormhole from anymore-unwelcome visitors.

"I want you to take your squadron to the other side of the wormhole and secure it," Ironside confirmed. "Prevent anymore alien warships from coming through until parliament and the rest of command decide to do about the wormhole. As I am sure you are aware class one wormholes can stay stable for years at a time."

"I understand Grand Admiral," Arlene replied. "We will set course at once. What do you want our rules of engagement to be?"

"The standard for potential first contact situations," Ironside replied. "So far three alien vessels of vastly different designs have come through the wormhole I don't want any unnecessary deaths that could affect potential diplomatic relations. Do you understand?"

"I understand sir," Arlene answered.

"Good. Do not hesitate to contact me if anything should happen."

"Yes, sir." Ironside smiled softly then broke the signal from his end. The holographic screen vanished with him and for a moment Arlene considered her mission. She understood why command was ordering a full squadron of warships to go through, the politicians were nervous about the presence of the wormhole, especially given the fact that the most recent ship to come through proved to be a heavily armed alien warship. Though the Home Fleet was always nearby to protect Terra the politicians would be screaming murder about what happened and would want the other side of the wormhole secured. After a moment she touched her commander.

"Admiral Greysmith to bridge. Message to all ships, calculate a hyperlight jump to the co-ordinates of the wormhole and prepare to go through."

"Aye, ma'am," Captain Yamato responded.

**

* * *

Peacekeeper Command Carrier**

**Other Side Of The Wormhole**

Lieutenant Makol sighed in relief as the badly damaged Command Carrier he now commanded finally finished vibrating. The passage through the wormhole had been rough to say the least; the damaged stabilisers having to work extremely hard to keep the ship on an even keel as it travelled through the wormhole.

"We're clear of the wormhole sir," navigation reported.

"Understood. Set a course for the closest Peacekeeper base and get me Peacekeeper Command on a priority channel," Makol ordered.

"Yes, sir," came the response from the respective station. Makol inwardly sighed and wondered how he was going to explain what exactly had happened in the alien star system to Peacekeeper Command, how this carrier came to be beaten to within an inch of destruction by an alien warships that was scarcely bigger than a male Leviathan. _Hopefully command will understand that this is all the fault of that idiot Captain Larsh,_ Makol thought.

**

* * *

Moya**

Zhaan kept her eyes on the screen at the front of Moya's command as they approached Earth. They had already passed two planets, one of whom being one of the biggest and most beautiful gas giants that she had ever seen. She had never thought she would see John's home world though he had described it to her many times.

Now as they approached the planet accompanied by the _Atlantis_ Zhaan found that the blue, green and white planet was every bit as beautiful as John had said. Earth looked like a beautiful jewel drifting in a sea of stars. Hundreds of thousands of starships of all descriptions filled space around them now, coming and going from the planet below or from one of the absolutely massive space stations that they could see orbiting the planet.

"Zhaan," Pilot said appearing in his clamshell on the wall.

"Yes Pilot," Zhaan asked turning to look at the clamshell on the wall.

"We have received a transmission from the planet," Pilot replied. "We have been instructed to proceed to a docking bay in one of the orbital stations. They have supplied us with a course." Zhaan looked over at Chiana and Rygel.

"We've come this far," Chiana pointed out. "Plus as you said earlier Zhaan I don't think we have much choice but to do what John's people ask of us. They haven't given us any reason to distrust them."

"Or any reason to trust them," Rygel pointed out. "Though I will admit the fact that we haven't been blown to subatomic particles is a point in their favour. As is the fact that the _Atlantis_ protected us from that command carrier, we should dock." _Given their observed technology and firepower advantages maybe I can convince John's people to help me get my throne back,_ Rygel thought, _in exchange for a base in my empire to launch their almost inevitable war with the Peacekeepers._

"We are agreed Pilot," Zhaan said. "Transmit a message back to the planet advising them that we will comply with their request."

"Yes Zhaan," Pilot replied and vanished from his clamshell. Zhaan turned back to look at the front screen and the view of the planet that they were fast approaching. Many more details of the planet were visible now; she could easily see the continents and make out seas of lights on the night side of the planet that indicated the presence of massive cities.

What was more impressive though was the space stations orbiting the planet, all of them were massive structures. Each dwarfing anything she had ever seen in all the cycles of her life, the stations made even the biggest ships she'd seen like Peacekeeper command carriers and Scarren dreadnoughts seem tiny. Thousands of starships and millions of small commuter and cargo craft as well as what were obviously fighters buzzed amongst them and the planet, as they passed into the atmosphere Zhaan noticed brief flares of bluish light indicating that they were passing through a force field. _A force field that encompasses an entire planet,_ Zhaan thought amazed she had never heard of someone who had the technology to do that. It was just another indication of just how powerful Humans actually were. _Terrans,_ Zhaan corrected herself, _it's going to take some getting used to calling John that._

Keeping her eyes firmly on the main screen Zhaan silently prayed to the goddess that she was doing the right thing in taking Moya into dock with one of the massive space stations. Though the truth was right or wrong Moya had no way to defy the Terrans wishes as it was well within their power to destroy Moya if they were to try using starburst to leave the system. Zhaan quietly sighed knowing she could do nothing but wait and see what happened next with the Terrans.


	6. Chapter 5

**The Road Home**

**Chapter Five**

**Peacekeeper Command Carrier**

**Sometime Later**

Commandant Mele-on Grayza sat in the silence of her office reading the report that she had just received from Peacekeeper High Command with a sense of stunned disbelief. A full Command Carrier being defeated by a single small unknown alien warship in a few short microns was unheard of. Not even the mighty hostships and heavy cruisers of the Nebari could do that.

"This cannot be," Grayza muttered reading through the more in depth details of the report. They included the sensor logs of the carrier in question, a carrier still limping towards the closest Peacekeeper fleet base for repairs. What immediately grabbed her attention were the life sign readings from the Terran ship, the _Atlantis_. The bio-readings matched those that they had on file for the Human John Crichton, the only conclusion being that they were the same race.

That revelation sent a shiver down Grayza's spine but it also helped to explain a few things about Crichton that had otherwise seemed inexplicable. Like how one primitive Sebacean-looking alien had been able to cause the Peacekeepers so many headaches over the last few cycles. Grayza realised now from these readings that the primitive label no longer applied to Crichton, it was possible that his people had known about this region of space and in an incredibly shrewd move had sent him here under the guise of being primitive to find out information about them. It was obvious that Terrans were far from primitive, but were a technologically very advanced race that was probably on a par with the Nebari if not even stronger.

Grayza could see from the notes that a number of her colleagues on the council suspected the same as her. There was an addendum present from Scorpius as well where he was saying that all the Aurora-chair interrogations he had subjected Crichton to may no longer be accurate. Species with the ability to resist the chair and even project false images had been encountered before, plus Crichton had once demonstrated the ability to put up mental walls to block the chair. Scorpius was speculating as well that Crichton might have been a Terran equivalent of a disrupter, sent here to gather information on there part of the galaxy for an unknown purpose. Grayza found herself actually agreeing with her long term rival, Scorpius analysis certainly made sense. _But what did they have to gain by sending him here,_ she thought thinking about Crichton, _what was there goal? Are they planning to invade us? I must find out, hopefully they were merely curious about us and thought this the best way to find out. The last thing we need is an enemy even stronger than the Scarrens._

A thought abruptly occurred to Grayza and she smiled shrewdly. If Crichton's people knew about the Peacekeepers from him, then they would also know about the Scarrens. If she could convince them that the Scarrens were the greater threat to them then they might be willing to join forces with the Peacekeepers and destroy them once and for all. Reaching out she pressed her desk intercom control.

"Grayza to bridge, set course for the Kaylon system best possible speed," she ordered. "Then I want you to establish a secure communications link with Peacekeeper Command."

"Yes commandant," Captain Braca responded immediately.

**

* * *

Katratzi**

**Scarren Empire, A Short Time Later**

Emperor Staalek carefully studied the intelligence report that had just been submitted to him with a sense of stunned surprise and disbelief. Intelligence drones had intercepted a transmission from a number of Command Carriers to Peacekeeper Command detailing a battle with a new and obviously powerful spacefaring race called the Terrans. The battle had taken place at the other end of a wormhole in the Kaylon system and had seen a full Command Carrier be defeated and driven back in a few short microns – an event that to the knowledge of the Scarren Empire was unheard of. Not even the Nebari could defeat the Peacekeepers so quickly.

The fact that these Terrans could defeat a Peacekeeper warship so quickly made them a new potential threat to the Scarren Empire and their carefully laid plans for galactic conquest. A threat that could be very dangerous indeed as the Kaylon system was located only a dozen light cycles from the boarder of Scarren space on one of the paths that had been carefully chosen for the eventual invasion of Peacekeeper space. What concerned Staalek even more though was the discovery by intelligence that the Peacekeepers would be sending additional warships to the system and that Commandant Grayza had been assigned to command them. Staalek knew Grayza would probably try to make an alliance with these Terrans to oppose the Scarren Empire, something that could not be permitted to occur as it could derail everything the empire had been working towards.

Staalek considered what to do to prevent that eventuality from occurring. The Peacekeepers could not be allowed to transit the wormhole to see these Terrans and possibly make an alliance with them. The question was how to stop them; a fleet of dreadnoughts should be more than enough to make the point to the Peacekeepers and Grayza that he knew what they were up to. The risk was great though especially as it was possible the Terrans would send there own warships to the Kaylon side of the wormhole to secure it, Staalek would if he were in their position. They could end up having a skirmish and possibly starting a war with the Terrans if their two groups of ships met.

After a few more moments of silently contemplating the options Staalek lowered the pad and pressed a button on the arm of his throne. He didn't really have a choice he was going to have to send ships to the Kaylon system and secure it before the Peacekeepers arrived.

"Have War Minister Akhta report to me immediately," Staalek said.

"As you command," the voice of his adjutant responded. Staalek switched off the comm. channel and leaned back on his throne to await the war minister arrival so he could give her his orders and hope she carried them out properly for once.

**

* * *

THS Atlantis**

**That Same Time**

A soft groaning sound made Kirsten Roseberg look up from reading some of the results of the tests she'd done on Aeryn Sun as her scans of the human looking alien woman had revealed some interesting things about her biology. Things that should have been impossible even with the almost improbably occurrence of convergent evolution. The woman in question had since been treated for her concussion and returned to her holding cell under sedation, she would remain there until at least they had a chance to really talk to John and find out what he knew about that alien fighter that had fired at them after ignoring all hails and forcing them to fire a warning shot.

Looking at the bio beds Kirsten smiled when she saw that John was starting to come around, the nanites having finally finished there integration with his body and removed that dangerous, primitive neural implant from his brain. They had actually been finished with their tasks for over an hour but John had remained asleep, something that Kirsten had fully expected to happen as initial nanite integration could be mildly traumatic for the body though it posed no danger. Standing up Kirsten walked over and looked down at John Crichton's handsome features a moment before his eyes opened again, this time showing no sign of the exhaustion that he had been experiencing the last time he woke up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living John," Kirsten said warmly. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," John replied, then reconsidered. "In fact I feel brilliant." And he did feel brilliant, he felt fit and stronger, stronger and fitter than he had ever felt in his life before. His whole body felt different, better somehow. It was really strange – especially knowing that it was all being caused by tiny biomechanical robots fused with his cells or swarming through his bloodstream. Kirsten smiled.

"Excellent," she answered. "Though I expect it probably feels a little strange to you as you've never had nanites in your body before."

"You can say that again." Kirsten frowned.

"Why would I," she asked. John laughed and shook his head.

"Sorry something we used to say in the twentieth century," he explained. "Don't mind me, I shouldn't have expected you to know it given it was a thousand years ago. You know I'm still having difficulty getting my head around that fact, a thousand years."

"I understand at least as much as someone born in this time can understand." John nodded and sat up and nearly ended up throwing himself off the bio bed as he exerted a lot more force than he had intended to use. He was sure he would have ended up flat on the deck had Kirsten's hand not darted out and made contact with his chest stopping him in his tracks with a strength that belied Kirsten's slim appearance.

"Whoa careful," Kirsten said. "Remember your muscles are now capable of generating immense amounts of force, you're ten times stronger than you were before. It will take awhile for your body to properly adjust to its new abilities." John nodded and locked around the sickbay and frowned when he did not see Aeryn.

"Where's Aeryn," he asked.

"I treated her concussion easily she's since been taken back to her holding cell," Kirsten replied. "We're still not sure what to do with her and the other one from that alien fighter, what did you call him again D'Argo was it."

"Yes that's his name, he's the only one who can pilot _Lolaan_ as the ship won't respond to a non-Luxan," John replied. "I can explain why he fired at you, though an aggressive move it was probably not an intentional one."

"What do you mean?"

"D'Argo is a Luxan, there a warrior species but male Luxans especially have hair trigger tempers and can be prone to reacting before thinking," John explained. "You told me you fired a warning shot after D'Argo and Aeryn did not return your hails, which would have been more than enough to provoke an angry response. D'Argo did something similar once to me and was very apologetic about it afterwards saying it was the curse of his peoples warrior heritage." Kirsten looked thoughtful.

"I'll let Captain Jackson know that," she said at last. "In fact I'll do that in a few moments, if you can confirm with this D'Argo that's what happened then we will almost certainly release both him and Aeryn to join the others."

"Others," John asked. "What others?"

"Oh that's right you don't know," Kirsten said. "Shortly before the battle with the unknown alien warship a biomechanoid starship of some kind came through the wormhole. It was clear to us that the warship was pursuing and had its sights on destroying the unarmed ship. We couldn't let such aggression be tolerated in our home system of all places, when we ordered them to stop they fired at us."

"Moya is here," John exclaimed, then grinned. "I'm glad there safe and the Peacekeepers didn't get them. Everyone on Moya, me included, have suffered enough at the hands of the Peacekeepers. Where are they now?"

"They docked in one of the diplomatic bays on Fairway Station – Terra's main orbital spaceport – about fifteen minutes ago. I believe a diplomatic team is currently in the process of shuttling up from the planet to meet with them."

"I would like to go and see them later. Zhaan and the others are probably worried to death about me."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. In the meantime I assume that you would like to go and see Aeryn." John grinned and nodded, he was about to ask if he could go and see her, once he talked to Aeryn he was sure he would be able to straighten out the mess D'Argo's Luxan temper had gotten the two of them into. "Very well I'll arrange it. Wait here."

John nodded and watched as Kirsten left to go and talk to Captain Jackson. He suspected that she actually didn't need to leave his side to call the _Atlantis'_ master; they were bound of have some form of personal communications devices, but was leaving so he wouldn't hear what she had to say. For a moment John considered trying to figure out how the nanites could have enhanced his hearing – see if that would let him listen in – but decided that any personal comm. devices would have been designed with that kind of thing in mind so as to protect people's privacy. Carefully he swung his legs off the side of the bed and waited with as much patience as he could muster for Kirsten to get back to him.

**

* * *

Aeryn's Cell**

**A Few Minutes Later**

Aeryn paced restlessly around the cell resisting the impulse to glare at the bare metal walls. Try as she might she had not been able to find away to get out of this cell, there was no visible door, not mechanism for her to tap into. Nothing but bare metal walls, it begged the question as to how she had been placed in here in the first place. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was aboard the Terran ship, and she had already decided that she didn't like them. They were keeping her from finding John and she hated them for that, assuming of course that John was still alive and on a planet as his spacesuits oxygen charge would have long since been exhausted.

A sound abruptly caught her attention and Aeryn stopped her pacing to look at the wall opposite the bed. Just in time to see a seam appear in the wall and rapidly expand into a doorway, the wall seemingly flowing aside like a liquid as opposed to a solid metal surface. Faintly she heard the sound of footsteps approaching and stiffened preparing herself to make a break for freedom. She guessed that she was about to be taken somewhere else on this ship for interrogation and that could not be allowed. Not when she had to still find John, even if he were dead now she still wanted to find him and hope wherever his soul was that he would forgive her for how she had been treating him since the death of his clone. How she would get off the ship she had no idea, she would have to cross that bridge when she came to it, all she knew was she had to get off.

A figure appeared in the doorway and stepped into the cell and abruptly all thought of fighting her way off the ship vanished as he lungs tightened into an amazed gasp, even as profound feeling of relief blossomed inside of her. For standing in the doorway facing her with a familiar loving smile on his handsome face was one Commander John Crichton.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

John was mildly nervous as he stepped through the freshly formed door into Aeryn's cell and came face to face with the Sebacean woman who was the love of his life. He couldn't help but feel a little unsure about facing her now, especially given how strained things had been between them since the death of his clone and Aeryn's subsequent return to Moya. He wasn't at all sure how she would react to seeing him alive, once he would have been but he couldn't be sure of anything with her anymore.

John forced down his anxiety as he looked at Aeryn and found her to be staring at him, utterly dumfounded. It was almost amusing to see, but what really lightened his heart was the look in Aeryn's eyes. In her eyes he could see delight and relief at seeing that he was still alive and in good health. It suddenly filled him with hope, hope that they could possibly get back together again. He wished they could, he had missed Aeryn and worried terribly about her since the last time she left on Talyn.

"Hi Aeryn," he said in greeting, the sound of his voice seeming to bring Aeryn out of her stunned surprise. The hope that had been bubbling up inside John abruptly turned to unease as he saw a cold look of anger come into Aeryn's face and eyes. _Ugh oh,_ John thought as Aeryn crossed the distance between them and then punched him hard on the shoulder. Before now it would have hurt like mad but now John barely noticed it when she hit him, the nanites in his body having strengthened him so much that such minor impacts were not noticeable it all. In away though it still hurt. "What was that for?" he demanded to know though inwardly he already guessed why Aeryn had struck him.

"For scaring me to death you stupid Erpman," Aeryn said back, her voice thick with anger. "When you disappeared into that wormhole, I thought…" Aeryn's voice trailed off and she looked down unable to meet John's eyes. "I thought I had lost you again. I couldn't go through that, not again." The anger was gone now in its place John could hear the pain and longing in Aeryn's voice.

"Oh Aeryn," he said softly and taking a chance he reached out and pulled Aeryn into an embrace, hoping that he didn't inadvertently hurt her with his newfound strength. He had wanted to do this for so long, but Aeryn had been so determined to keep her distance from him and now he knew why. She was afraid of getting close to him again for fear of being hurt again. He was surprised when Aeryn didn't resist and instead wrapped her own arms around him before burying her head in his shoulder.

Aeryn held John tightly and inhaling his familiar scent and feeling his love for her in the embrace began to relax. She couldn't help but wonder why she had stopped herself from doing this again? It was a question she wasn't sure that she knew the answer to, but she didn't care. She was just happy to be in her beloved arms again. After a few moments though Aeryn noticed something odd, something about John that different to before, his muscles felt harder somehow. And now that she thought about it, she realised that John was holding her a bit tighter than he ever had before, there was strength in his arms that she had never felt in him before.

Carefully Aeryn pulled back from the male Human and looked carefully into his brown eyes. There was clarity in them that she hadn't really seen in a long time, not since the neural clone of Scorpius had almost pushed him into total madness. The hint of insanity wasn't there anymore, gone as if it had never been, as if the remains of the neural chip causing it had been removed, the neural clone erased. Aeryn had no idea how that could be possible, unless whoever had built this ship had more advanced medical technology than any known race.

"What's happened to you, John?" she asked. "You feel different somehow."

John blinked slightly, then realised that Aeryn had felt something different in him. _Probably felt a change in my muscles,_ he thought. "It's a long story Aeryn. As is the origin of this ship and its technology, but before I can tell you I need you to confirm something for me. You and D'Argo were imprisoned because you fired at this ship after a warning shot was fired. I think I know why but I need you to confirm it, if you can then my people will let you go."

Aeryn's eyes widened. "You mean this ship was built by your people," she exclaimed. "But how your module is nothing like this technology."

"I know it's a complicated story. Short version the wormhole that brought me to Peacekeeper space in the first place did more than just transport me through space, it hurled me forward in time by a period of a thousand cycles," John replied. "Now, I need you to tell me exactly what happened when _Lolaan_ approached this ship."

Aeryn nodded. "We came through the wormhole after it pulled you in," she started to explain. "When we emerged from the wormhole we found this ship waiting there, when we were hailed we weren't sure who this ship belonged to. Though I noticed the name plate on the hull was written in English, so that gave me a bit of a thought. Before I could act on it this ship fired some sort of proton blast as a warning. D'Argo reacted badly."

John nodded. "I guessed as much," he said, with a sigh. "Thanks for confirming it Aeryn; I'll have a word with Captain Jackson about getting you two out. This misunderstanding has to be cleared up before this ship reaches Earth orbit, once we're there I think we should be able to rejoin Moya."

"Moya is here?"

"Yes, from what I'm told they came through the wormhole a short time after you did, with a Peacekeeper Command Carrier on their heels. Of course Captain Jackson intercepted the Peacekeepers when they came through as they were targeting Moya." Aeryn flinched slightly she knew her people, a command carriers captain would not react well to an 'inferior alien' ship getting in his or her way.

"What happened," she asked, though going from the shudders and jolts she'd felt earlier she had a pretty good idea.

"They attacked us," John confirmed. "A big mistake for them, from what I understand my peoples weapons technology is far in advance of the Peacekeepers. The command carrier was badly damaged in short order and forced to retreat back through the wormhole. The Prowler regiment they launched was almost completely annihilated."

Aeryn was stunned. "This ship drove off a full command carrier?" she asked. John nodded and Aeryn shook her head in astonishment. "Peacekeeper Command is not going to like that. I would not be at all surprised if an attack fleet is heading for the wormhole as we speak. Aside from the Nebari and the Scarrens no one has ever defeated a command carrier before."

"I think it's occurred to senior military personnel on this side of the wormhole," John replied. "From what I have been told a task force of warships is on its way to the territories side of the wormhole as we speak to secure it. If the Peacekeepers come for Earth, they'll have a fight on their hands."

"That won't stop them though," Aeryn pointed out knowing what her people were like. Though they would never admit to feeling it she knew Peacekeeper Command would be insulted and angry that a small warship like this one had pounded one of their mighty command carriers to within an inch of destruction. They would feel it was an insult to Peacekeeper superiority – an insult that could not go unpunished.

John nodded in agreement. "I know it won't," he replied. "But they'll learn that my people don't react very well to someone trying to push us around. I have a feeling that next time a command carrier is engaged it won't be disabled it will be destroyed."

"And with tensions so high with the Scarren Empire at the moment Peacekeeper Command wont be able to do much about it," Aeryn concluded. "But what about us, John," she asked. "What are we going to do? I guess you'll want to stay here with your own people."

"I'll go wherever you go, Aeryn," John replied putting a hand on the side of Aeryn's face. "There is nothing for me on Earth, not now. My father and my sisters have all long ago turned to dust. Wherever you are will be my home."

Aeryn smiled, it meant a lot to her that John felt that way. "Even if its, Moya," she asked.

"Even Moya," John agreed. "Moya has been my home for the last few years, it would be strange not living on her."

Aeryn nodded. "You better go have a word with this Captain Jackson now, John," she said. "I don't want to spend any longer in this cell than I absolutely have to."

John sighed and nodded. "I'll go and talk to him," he replied. "You wont be in this cell much longer, Aeryn. I'll get you let out, I promise you that."

"I know you will. So what are you waiting for Erpman, go do it."

John laughed. That was Aeryn through and through. "Apparently the proper word now to describe my kind is Terran," he said, then leaned in and kissed Aeryn. "I wont be long, Aeryn. I love you."

"I love you to, John," Aeryn replied, kissing John back. John pulled back after a moment, smiled at her one last time, then turned and walked back out of the cell. As he left the door disappeared, the metal of the wall flowing back into place, once again turning the wall into a featureless metal thing. Aeryn looked at the wall for a few moments just staring at the blank metal walls, then she walked back to the bed and sat down on the edge to wait for John to return.

Return and set her free from this high tech prison.

**

* * *

Captains Quarters**

**A Few Minutes Later**

Captain Aiden Jackson studied Commander John Crichton as the rescued twentieth century astronaut stood in front of him. John was looking a lot better than he had done when they had first brought him aboard, indeed he looked indistinguishable from any other Terran now. Aiden had to constantly remind himself that this man had been through a lot in the last few years, being shot through an unstable wormhole that Aiden guessed was a type four from the temporal shift, surviving for years in an unstable part of the galaxy, and now returning to his home space to find a thousand years had passed.

"So it's actually what you thought happened," he asked. John had just finished filling him in on what he had discussed with the more human looking of there two alien prisoners. A prisoner whose name he now knew to be Aeryn Sun.

"Yes, sir. D'Argo in a burst of his typical hair-trigger male Luxan temper fired a shot from _Lolaan's_ cannon at you after your warning shot passed by," John replied. "It was not a wholly deliberate act of aggression, I know D'Argo very well, and he wouldn't immediately initiate hostile action with a warship of unknown capabilities. Its just his temper gets the better of him sometimes, especially where his ships concerned. He named her after his late wife and is very protective of her."

"You need not call me sir, commander," Aiden replied. "Your not one of my crew or even in the Hegemony Guard, so you don't have to answer to me." He sighed. "Very well I will allow the release of Aeryn Sun and Ka D'Argo. While they remain on this ship you will be responsible for their conduct."

John nodded. "I understand, thank you. We will want to return to Moya soon."

"That can be arranged," Aiden answered. "We will be entering Earth orbit within the next hour, as soon as orbital control can find an orbital approach vector for us. Transport across to Fairway Station can be arranged once we're in orbit. You're friend might want to take his ship but we cannot allow that, yet."

John nodded. "I understand, and I'll make sure D'Argo does as well," he replied. "He won't like not being able to take _Lolaan_ off this ship but I'm sure he will understand that it's for security reasons."

"That's exactly why we can't allow it, Hegemony Command is on a heightened state of alert since the battle with the Peacekeepers, until that ends _Lolaan _will have to remain docked on this ship. I'll send word to the guards down in the security bay to allow you to get your friends out," Aiden said.

"Thank you. I better leave you now, as I'm sure you have a ton of paperwork to do."

Aiden laughed. "At the very least," he replied. "Go on commander. I'll speak with you again before you disembark my ship."

John smiled, turned and walked out of the quarters of the _Atlantis'_ master. He wasn't entirely looking forward to letting D'Argo out of his cell. The formidable Luxan warrior was bound to be pissed off at being held prisoner again. _Hopefully I'll be able to talk to him before he tries to kill me,_ John thought.

**

* * *

Moya**

**Diplomatic Docking Bay**

**Fairway Station, Earth Orbit**

**That Same Time**

Pa'u Zotah Zhaan stood with serene Delvian calmness on Moya's side of the airlock umbilical that now joined them to the huge Terran space station they had docked with. Though she was a picture of serenity on the outside inside Zhaan was nervous, very, very nervous. A few moments ago Pilot had informed them that a Terran diplomatic team were requesting permission to come aboard this ship. After conferring with Chiana and Rygel she'd agreed to allow it, and now she was waiting for the diplomats to arrive.

"Attention airlock cycling now," Pilot's voice said over the comm. system.

"Thank you, Pilot," Zhaan replied and glanced over at Chiana and Rygel who were here with her. Unlike her both looked a little flustered, Chiana bouncing with childlike enthusiasm, eager to meet more of John's people, Rygel a little flushed as the ex-dominar of Hyneria had hurried to get into the best robes he had available on this ship.

The sound of the airlock starting to cycle drew Zhaan's attention back to it and she looked at it as the large oval shaped door opened. Two figures immediately came through, two tall figures that were wearing some kind of heavy duty body armour complete with full helmets and carrying large rifles. They took up station on either side of the airlock then three more people came through.

Two were young men dressed in expensive looking grey-blue suits that looked like they were made of a silken material in the way it shimmered slightly as light played over it. The suits were expensively cut and hung close to powerful, athletic bodies. The third person – the one in the middle – was a young woman. She was beautiful, dressed in a long flowing light blue dress that brushed around her ankles. The dress shimmered gracefully as the woman moved. But it was her face that caught Zhaan's attention. In the features she caught influences that reminded her of John, the intelligent brown eyes were definitely just like John's.

"Greetings," the woman said warmly. "Welcome to the Terran Hegemony. I am Ambassador Melinda Crichton, Terran Diplomatic Service. I believe we have much to talk about."


End file.
